jbrentd's 2nd Chance CQ - Merging the 7A & 3B Harnesses

[PRY4SNO]

For the cost of a zip tie, that's like found money.

Thanks for sharing that info.

[jbrentd]

Not much progress, but a little. All of the suspension and brakes are off the car, except the rear top mounts (I’ll get to those soon). The Summer heat is making me lazy. While I was looking for a set of e brake cables, I went ahead and ordered a full set of reman’d brake calipers, rather than rebuilding mine.

I’ve been working on removing the CA and subframe bushings. What a PITA! I’m only half way done and every one of them has put up a fight. Still have the rears to go and they look the worst (at least the CAs do).



I bought a ball joint press kit with the hopes it would make things easier, but have had to resort to heat, penetrating oil, hole saws, hacksaws, BFH’s, and chisels. I’ll be glad when this work is behind me so I can put some Verkline bling in.

[ert]

I usually run a drill bit between the outer metal sleeve and the bushing rubber. It runs 360 degrees between the sleeve and rubber portion and cuts them apart. Then just knock out the old bushing and cut the outer sleeve with a saw, just like you have done. I've found this to be the easiest and least messy way to remove old bushings.

[Peters]

A hole saw makes quick work of the rubber bushing, I then use a hacksaw to get a notch started on the sleeve and finish with an air hammer to collapse the sleeve on itself

[jbrentd]

A hole saw makes quick work of the rubber bushing, I then use a hacksaw to get a notch started on the sleeve and finish with an air hammer to collapse the sleeve on itself

Thanks for the tips. I can't seem to find my air chisel...I know I had one at some point. Might need to pick another one up.

[jbrentd]

“One bite at a time”...is what I keep telling myself.

All bushings are officially removed. The rears were much more cooperative and I was able to use the ball joint press quite a bit.



Worked today on cleaning the rear diff. Here are some before and after pics





Also completed the 1st two steps of POR15 prep (degrease and metal prep) on all of the suspension parts. Hope to paint them next weekend.

[PRY4SNO]

Looks a treat... I'll bet you're some glad those bushings are removed.

[jbrentd]

Thanks. Yessir!

POR15 is on. Pretty happy with the turnout. Went with the semi-gloss.

Next up, install the new bushings and clean up the coilovers.

[jbrentd]

Managed to get some time in the garage today. Worked on cleaning my homemade coilovers. While I was at it, I swapped the springs front and rear, added the helper springs, and fitted the AKMS/Verkline top mounts.

I didn’t remember buying one set of offset mounts...I assume for the front?!

[PRY4SNO]

Yes, offset for the front. Looks really good!

[jbrentd]

Yes, offset for the front. Looks really good!

Thanks!

[jbrentd]

Got some more deep cleaning in this weekend. Focus was on wheel wells, which were quite nasty. There was also a decent amount of overspray on the wheel well liners from when I had the car painted.

Also mounted the rear strut assemblies with the Verkline top mounts

[jbrentd]

Managed to get the rear subframe back in place. Also routed the new emergency brake lines and ABS sensors. The sensors aren’t OEM so I cut off the old grommets. Better than nothing I suppose.





I also managed to break the emergency brake adjustment bracket. Quick trip to the hardware store and we’re back in business. The emergency brake has never worked in this car in the 10 years Since I bought it.





Couldn’t finish the rear suspension since I am waiting on my friend to press the new bearings into the hubs. So, I decided to start working on the interior. Need to remove the dash for harness and HVAC swap. Also want to pull out the carpet so I can clean it well and run the positive battery cable to the hatch. Carpets are pretty nasty.

[themagellan]

Cool progress - I like the idea of making your own hardware - thanks for the inspiration.

[jbrentd]

Got the dash out today. I always look at this and hope I can remember how it all goes back together.



I also removed the air box since I’ll be converting to a manual control air box.



So, that lead to re-foaming the flaps and installing a new heater core on the replacement box. But in typical fashion with this project, it took a lot longer because the evaporator drain was broken on the replacement air box. I ended up using the shell of my original.






For anyone that has done this swap, are there 3 or 4 bowden cables? My air box has 3, but the left control knob has provisions for a cable, but no cable connected.


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[PRY4SNO]

What did you end up using for replacement foam?

[jbrentd]

This is the stuff I used.


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Armacell-2- ... /100539553


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[PRY4SNO]

Thanks, I have the dash out and ought to get that done. I'll pick some up next time I'm at Home Despot for reno supplies.

[jbrentd]

Thanks, I have the dash out and ought to get that done. I'll pick some up next time I'm at Home Despot for reno supplies.

No better time than when it’s already out. Also a good idea to test the vacuum servos to make sure they are good. One of mine had a tear on the rubber diaphragm, which would explain why I wasn’t getting air out of the main vents.


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[jbrentd]

Question about the wiring side of a 3B swap. My plan is to combine all of the non ECU components from the 7A harness with the ECU components of the 3B harness. I’ve got the ECU pinout diagrams for both the 3B and 7A, but does anyone have a diagram or list of all the other things that are on the main wiring loom?

Thought it would be helpful to know what’s what before I start integrating the two. I do have the bentleys to fall back on.


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[jbrentd]

It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Gonna have to deal with some rust. Not sure what the best plan of attack is.












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[PRY4SNO]

POR15 rust converter then paint to seal?

[themagellan]

This may help - https://www.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=63258

Floors look great - bet you saved 10lbs in rust/paint too!

Edit - Added extensive 3B S2 diagrams too:

http://s2-audi.co.uk/workshop/schematics/schematics.htm

[jbrentd]

POR15 rust converter then paint to seal?

Yeah, probably will do that. Maybe I’ll be sponsored by POR15 after it’s all said and done. [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]

I had very little time today to work in the garage, but I did manage to hit a small spot of the floor pan with a 60 grit flapper disk. I need to get some wire wheels for my grinder. With just some light grinding, bare metal started to peak through. Granted, this was a higher spot, but hopefully the rest will clean up.

I do know of at least one hole. It presented itself while just scraping off the flaky stuff. Weird thing is the underbody coating looks perfect from underneath, even where the hole is.






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[jbrentd]

This may help - https://www.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=63258

Floors look great - bet you saved 10lbs in rust/paint too!

Edit - Added extensive 3B S2 diagrams too:

http://s2-audi.co.uk/workshop/schematics/schematics.htm

Thanks. I always forget about those handy backward links on the S2 pages.


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